A Bombshell and a Blush

The idea of investigating the Bai family immediately seized Bai Muxue’s mind. ‘Why investigate the Bai family?’ she thought, utterly stunned, despite the possibility that Amber had merely spoken on a whim. Yet, knowing Amber’s decisive nature, Bai Muxue couldn’t shake the implication.

While she did typically indulge in a certain degree of wanton behavior to uphold her persona as a villainous young lady, the most wicked act she could recall was coercing Shen Jingyi, a perfectly innocent girl, into signing a contract of servitude. Surely, that wasn’t enough to land her on a magical girl’s investigative radar?

Furthermore, though the Bai family was extensively involved in both industrial and commercial ventures, they certainly weren’t secretly colluding with disaster beasts or monstrous figures. What’s more, why would Amber suddenly bring such a thing to light?

With a somewhat vacant expression, Bai Muxue tugged at the corners of her mouth, forcing a stiff smile as she strove to appear unperturbed. “The Bai family?” she inquired. “Amber, are you referring to *our* Bai family from Wangdu? The exceptionally wealthy one?”

“Why the sudden mention of them?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Amber replied, “I merely had a sudden thought about a few things.”

Unaware of Bai Muxue’s unusual demeanor, Amber propped her chin on her small hand, muttering to herself, “I just have this persistent feeling that something isn’t quite right…”

“What exactly feels amiss?”

Shedding her usual calm, Bai Muxue pressed her questions with uncharacteristic eagerness.

“For instance…”

Amber turned her head, holding up a single finger towards Bai Muxue. “While the disaster beast is indeed dead, what exactly was that core within its body? And why did it detonate the very instant it was touched?”

“Disaster beasts don’t typically possess such a thing?” Bai Muxue questioned, her expression momentarily stunned by the revelation.

This, she realized, was genuinely her blind spot. After all, in a way, for Bai Muxue—whose previous incarnation had primarily handled logistics for the Disaster Prevention Bureau—this marked only her second direct encounter with a disaster beast. Her understanding in this specific field paled significantly in comparison to both Amber and Shen Jingyi.

“No, not at all,” Amber stated, shaking her head. “This young lady has vanquished countless disaster beasts, yet this is the very first time I’ve ever encountered a so-called ‘core’ within one.”

“If every disaster beast possessed such an obvious vulnerability, why would we consistently struggle so immensely in our battles?”

‘That reasoning certainly holds true…’

Bai Muxue silently committed this crucial piece of information to memory, nodding in quiet agreement.

“And it doesn’t stop there,” Amber continued, raising two fingers towards Bai Muxue. “Once that wretched jellyfish was defeated, all the anomalies in the amusement park should have, by all accounts, been completely resolved. So why did we still nearly drown in the underwater tunnel?”

“Xiaoxue mentioned this point earlier, didn’t she?”

‘She did indeed…’

Bai Muxue instinctively nodded at the reminder. At the time, however, she hadn’t had the chance to ponder the detail, having been immediately swept away by the surging floodwaters. It truly hadn’t occurred to her that Amber would still be preoccupied with this particular discrepancy.

Upon closer reflection, while the amusement park incident appeared to have been resolved, numerous lingering questions and suspicious elements remained beneath the surface.

“But even if there are underlying issues with this incident, how did you, Amber, manage to connect it to the Bai family?”

Bai Muxue hesitated for a beat, yet ultimately voiced the question that weighed most heavily on her mind.

She had, in fact, considered the possibility of a hidden mastermind behind the events. However, she would never, like Amber, inexplicably cast suspicion upon her own family!

Besides, wouldn’t that “empire” mentioned by the blonde bat-woman bear significantly more suspicion?

“Oh, it’s quite simple, really.”

“Hmph, didn’t this young lady tell you? When I infiltrated this place, I examined the blueprints. Have you forgotten?”

“This very amusement park was constructed by the Bai family’s developers.”

Amber shook her head, and with a perfectly composed expression, casually dropped yet another bombshell.

“What did you just say???”

The moment those words left Amber’s lips, Bai Muxue froze completely. She twisted her head around, her pretty face momentarily flashing with utter bewilderment, barely able to cling to her usual calm demeanor.

‘—This amusement park was built by *her* family? How was it possible she hadn’t known?’

Her eyes, wide with shock and a touch of panic, met Amber’s inscrutable golden gaze for a fleeting instant before quickly darting away.

“Hm? Xiaoxue, why such an extreme reaction? Did I misstate something?”

Amber tilted her head, a hint of confusion clouding her features.

“Ah, haha, no, not at all. It’s just that I never imagined… the Bai family would be involved in such mischief… especially considering how incredibly wealthy they are.”

Bai Muxue nervously scratched her cheek, stiffly averting her gaze.

While she frequently proclaimed herself a villainous young lady, she had *never* once entertained the thought of her family secretly colluding with disaster beasts!

‘What was this, then? An instance of the upper beam being crooked, leading to a crooked lower beam (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning that if the leadership is corrupt, the subordinates will follow suit)?’

“Hmm, well, we can’t exactly declare the Bai family the mastermind just yet… but since they were the original developers of this amusement park, they *must* possess some knowledge.”

Amber thoughtfully stroked her delicate chin, quietly analyzing the situation as she meticulously arranged her thoughts:

“Furthermore, if that jellyfish generated all of this by extracting children’s memories… then those enigmatic paintings within the underwater tunnel—were they, too, perhaps extracted from someone’s memories?”

“I’m starting to wonder if that girl might also have a connection to the Bai family.”

‘Hold on, you claim not to be suspicious, yet you’ve essentially already pinpointed the Bai family as the mastermind…’

Bai Muxue’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly as she listened to the young girl’s deductions, silently grumbling to herself.

Yet, she truly hadn’t anticipated that Amber, beneath her seemingly carefree exterior, possessed an unexpectedly sharp and meticulous mind. Bai Muxue found herself forming a completely new perception of the golden-haired girl before her.

Moreover, her deductions didn’t seem entirely without merit. Perhaps, in some hidden corner she was unaware of, someone within the Bai family truly did have a connection to the disaster beasts? ‘Tsk, it seems an investigation is absolutely necessary…’

However, the young girl’s silence was interpreted quite differently in Amber’s eyes. A playful smirk tugged at Amber’s lips, and then her small hand landed without mercy on Bai Muxue’s head.

“Ow!”

The young girl, startled from her deep contemplation, gasped and instinctively raised her head. Yet, before Bai Muxue could utter a single word, Amber’s hand had already firmly pinched her soft cheek.

“Oh, come on, I already told you I’d handle this. What’s there to worry about? Xiaoxue, don’t be scared, alright? You won’t have to go investigating.”

“Hmph, this young lady couldn’t care less how wealthy or influential the Bai family might be. If they are truly orchestrating some conspiracy, I shall go directly to their leader!”

‘That person is standing directly before you…’ Bai Muxue weakly appended in her thoughts.

‘Tsk, how old is she, still pinching cheeks… I don’t even tease Xingwan like this anymore!’

Yet, terrified that Amber might detect any hint of her true identity, she dared not utter a single word. She could only weakly purse her lips, allowing Amber’s small hand to knead and pinch her cheek at will.

“By the way, Xiaoxue,” Amber purred, “has anyone ever told you that your cheeks feel wonderfully soft, just like a doll’s?”

Amber, growing increasingly amused with each squeeze, chuckled playfully.

With her cheeks thoroughly squished by Amber’s small hands, Bai Muxue could only manage a weak, muffled “No…”

In her nearly forty years of existence across two lifetimes, when had poor Bai Muxue ever endured such a degree of playful torment?

“Is that so? Then…”

Amber blinked, a knowing smile curving her lips, and leaned conspiratorially close to Bai Muxue’s ear, her breath a soft whisper.

“Then, would you say I just took Xiaoxue’s ‘first time’?”

“Eh???”

‘What in the world is this girl saying?!’

Bai Muxue froze for a moment upon hearing those words. Despite priding herself on keeping abreast of youthful trends, her face flushed a vivid crimson with astonishing speed.

‘No, seriously, do girls these days just casually blurt out jokes like that? It can’t be, can it??’